Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture.
Breaking (often called breakdancing by popular media) is the original dance style that came out of the Hip Hop community. It started out with these 4 core movements: Top Rocks, Fast Footwork, Freezes, and Power Moves. Hip Hop has also given rise to other derivative but unique dance styles such as Popping / Boogaloo, House, Locking and Waacking.
The lock is the primary move used in Locking. It is similar to a freeze or a sudden pause. A locker’s dancing is characterized by frequently Locking in place and after a brief freeze moving again.
Popping is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in a dancer’s body, referred to as a pop or a hit. When performed correctly, each hit is synchronized to the rhythm and beats of the music. Popping can also include a wide range of closely related illusionary dance styles such as strobing, liquid, animation, twist o-flex, and waving.
The main emphasis of the House style rests on the dancer’s ability to improvise, so it’s one of the most forgiving street dance styles in giving freedom to ‘break the rules’ without being called out for ‘disrespecting the roots.’ There are three main elements of house; jacking, footwork and lofting.
Waacking is an extremely expressive, free and musical form of dance that is characterised by arm movements and posing with a strong emphasis on musicality and improvised performance.
Project Beats is the only Street Dance studio in Canberra that specialises in Street Styles. We teach classes in Hip Hop, Breaking, Popping, Locking, House, and Waacking. We also offer KPOP dance which is a trending style for all Korean Pop music lovers.